The present invention relates generally to the field of turning frame assemblies, and more particularly to an apparatus for turning a patient from a supine (face up) to a prone (face down) position and vice-versa during a surgical procedure. Although the apparatus of the present invention may be adapted to a variety of applications, it is particularly useful prior to, during and/or following Liposuction surgery and other surgical procedures such as lumbar laminectomy and rectal surgery while the patient is in the operating room.
It is well known that it is often times necessary to be able to turn over patients confined to hospital beds so that they are shifted from a position wherein they are lying on their back to a position wherein they are lying on their stomach, and vice-versa. Invalids, or otherwise bedridden persons need to be turned from a face-up to a face-down position quite frequently so as to avoid serious discomfort resulting from lying in one position for a prolonged period of time. In addition, for patients in traction as a means of treatment and therapy for various conditions, it is often times desirable to turn the patient while maintaining traction so as to avoid pain and injury to the patient. To these ends, there have been a large number of turning devices heretofore developed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,780,399 to Munson and 3,238,539 to Koch, for example, each describe a rotatable bed for an invalid in which the invalid is held fast between two mattresses which can be rotated together through 180.degree. about a central longitudinal axis so as to turn the patient over. Invalid beds of this nature are often frightening to the patient and have a tendency to create a feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia. Further, these beds are not uncommonly cumbersome and often times require auxiliary equipment to effect turning of the patient. Similarly, prior art traction maintaining devices are, in general available for attachment to existing hospital beds and require special overbed support structures which may interfere with a surgeon's access to various parts of the patient's anatomy. Due to the size and bulkiness of these structures, rotatable invalid beds and traction maintaining turning frames are unsuitable for use in the operating room, where space is severely limited.
Considerable difficulty is frequently encountered in turning a patient over while on an operating table. In general, the surgical patient is under some form of anesthesia, which renders him/her unconscious. It is well known that a person in an unconscious state assumes "dead weight," which makes that person appear all the more heavier. Further, an unconscious person has no control over his/her appendages so that arms and legs have a tendency to fall off of the operating room table. To manually turn a conscious patient, the attendant or nurse must exert a great deal of strength which, can not only injure the patient, but also the attendant or nurse performing the turning procedure. To manually turn an unconscious patient is even more difficult due to the "dead weight" factor and uncontrollable appendages only add to the problems.
In addition to the many difficulties encountered in the manual turning of a patient, even greater obstacles are present when the patient is on an operating room table. Since the safety of the patient is of paramount importance, it is imperative that the turning of a patient, especially during a surgical procedure, does not interfere with the many life-support and life-monitoring systems which may be hooked up to the patient. In general, persons being operated upon have an intravenous solution running into one of the upper extremities. In addition, several electrodes are commonly attached at various locations about the patient's body for the monitoring of the patient's vital signs. Further, it is not uncommon to employ an endotracheal tube for the purposes of administering oxygen and/or an anesthetic of some sort.
Thus, while there are several variations of turning structures presently available, there is nothing in the prior art which provides for turning a patient from a supine to a prone position while in an operating room, on an operating room table. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an apparatus capable of turning a patient from a supine to a prone position, or vice-versa which utilizes minimal space in the operating room, and allows easy access to all parts of the patient's body. Further, there is a need in the art for an apparatus capable of safely performing such a turning operation without interfering with life-support and life-monitoring devices which may be hooked up to the patient.